Episode 20:
The night air was heavy. Alok lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
The whispers of the day the falling fan, the stares of his classmates echoed in his mind.
Then, he heard it.
A scrape at the window.
At first he thought it was just wind. But when he turned, his heart froze two glowing eyes peered through the glass.
The window burst open. A figure stepped inside its body cloaked in black smoke, its claws dripping with venom. Its shape was half-beast, half-human, shifting with every breath.
Alok stumbled backward, clutching his pendant without realizing.
"…what the hell…?"
The creature hissed, its voice layered with a thousand whispers:
"Child of chains… you should not exist…"
Before Alok could scream, the beast lunged.
And then time slowed.
The pendant glowed fiercely. The hidden spirit's presence surged. Alok felt himself yanked aside, barely avoiding the strike. His lamp shattered as the claws tore into the floor where he had been.
Alok gasped. Did I… move that fast? No… something pulled me.
The creature roared and swiped again. Sparks flew as invisible force clashed with its claws. To Alok's eyes, it was chaos objects in his room flew, chairs broke, but he couldn't see who was fighting.
He backed into the corner, shaking, watching a mystery battle unfold in his own room.
The shadow-beast was being pushed back by something unseen something that shimmered faintly in silver light.
For an instant, the veil flickered Alok saw it.
A tall, armored figure with burning eyes of sorrow, standing between him and the monster. Then it vanished.
The creature shrieked, its body tearing apart as if crushed by invisible chains. With one final cry, it dissolved into ash.
Silence.
Alok sat frozen, staring at the wreckage of his room.
His chest heaved. He whispered to the darkness:
"…ghost… was that you?"
No answer came. But the pendant pulsed once, warmly.
Alok pressed it against his chest, tears welling in his eyes.
"…why are you protecting me? Who are you…?"
The night gave him no answer. Only the feeling that he was never alone even when he wanted to be.